Laura Spooner read that officials attributed the death of her aunt, Deanna Feldman, to dementia.
She believes the reason her aunt — who died at the age of 77 on Monday, March 2 — is gone is because of how she was mistreated at Hillview Nursing & Rehab in Platte City.
Spooner took her issues to social media to show what she saw at the nursing home, at 220 O’Rourke Drive, in her many visits there to see her aunt.
“They weren’t getting her up; she was deeply dehydrated and there were only two times where dinner and fluids were charted in February because they are so short staffed,” Spooner said. “They were telling us she was eating 76 to 100 percent. Their records show zero to 26 (percent). They weren’t doing the charting. The state takes it as she didn’t get anything. When state came in last week, they (Hillview) said the sheets have been misplaced or lost, so I faxed (our records) to them. And, they (Hillview) are falsifying records. They said she got lunch at 2:48 p.m. on Feb. 22 and she wasn’t even at the facility. She was at the hospital.
“Every life there matters and these people aren’t getting the care they deserve.”
Spooner has a number of issues she and her daughter, Lara (Henderson) Ashley, have seen since taking over as caretakers of Feldman last February. Prior to that, Feldman’s sister, the late Linda Henderson, was a caretaker before dying in a multi-vehicle accident on I-70 near Oak Grove.
Now, Spooner has lost her mother and aunt a little more than a year apart.
She asked for her aunt’s records prior to her death and noted a lot of issues with the care Feldman received.
She went 11 days without showering at one point. There was the time she fell in the shower in January and the next month she landed in the ICU at a local hospital due to severe dehydration and a urinary tract infection.
She needed five bags of fluid when she arrived at the hospital and that was after demanding the staff at Hillview call for an ambulance.
Fed up without getting answers of why her aunt was treated that way and how could a place that is supposed to care for people treat people so poorly, she turned to social media.
Then more and more people started to comment on the living and working conditions at the facility, owned by Health Systems, Inc., out of Sikeston.
It seems that what Feldman experienced was not the exception, but rather just another part of systematic issues within the building.
Spooner got photos from an employee that worked at the nursing home and posted them on Facebook. Within a day, she got a message from Jessica Dillen, the administrator at Hillview, to take down the post or face legal action.
The photos depicted unsanitary conditions in the bathroom, dirty laundry piled up and an employee, identified as Joel Cannady, sleeping on the job on multiple occasions. According to Spooner, Cannady is the son of Angela Webb, the director of nursing at Hillview.
When asked by the Citizen if Cannady was still employed, Dillen said that employee no longer worked at the company but didn’t specify a name, citing HIPAA regulations. When asked if it was legal for Cannady to work under his mother as a supervisor, she said ‘no comment.’
Dillen spoke with the Citizen on Tuesday, March 9.
“We take the concerns seriously and we strive to provide the best possible care for our residents and do that in compliance with the law,” she said.
She noted the facility would abide by what the investigation by the Missouri State Department of Health and Senior Services finds.
“The Section for Long Term Care is unable to comment on the current compliance investigations or potential findings of non-compliance,” Lisa Cox, the communication director for the Department of Health and Senior Services said in an email to the Citizen on Monday, March 8. “If a deficient practice is identified, SLCR is required by state law to provide a statement of deficiency to the facility within 10 working days. The facility is then required by state law to submit a plan of correction. The section for long term care posts findings for the public to view on our Show Me Long Term Care website www.healthapps.dhss.mo.gov/showmeltc/default.aspx.”
Spooner said an employee of the DHSS told her there were 10 serious violations on Monday, but when the paper contacted DHSS to verify the 10 violations, none were provided.
Spooner’s allegations of abuse and neglect aren’t the only ones out there.
Krystal Parsons, who lives in Camden Point, took her mother out of the facility after a short stay because her health had deteriorated so much due to the lack of care provided.
Another mother, whose son has been in the facility since Dec. 24, 2019, asked not to be identified due to fear of retaliation.
Parsons made a list of things she encountered when her mother was there from Feb. 14-19 after undergoing ankle surgery. She was there for a short-term rehab but multiple issues led to her leaving before planned.
Parsons noted the first thing you notice when you walk in is the odor of urine and feces. Spooner also noted that, saying she witnessed a resident soaked through a diaper and the liquid fell through the chair and onto the floor.
Employees would then mop up the urine and spray air freshener.
Parsons noted there were feces all over the wall in the bathroom in her mother’s room and they had to use a homemade shower cart made with PVC pipe.
Other issues she encountered were the lack of response time for when a call light was initiated by the patient. She said her mother had to wait more than two hours for her pain medication and she only got it after Parsons made a call to the nursing home and demanded they go answer the call light and take her mother the medicine.
Another instance she remembers was asking for a cup of ice for her mother and getting a cup with mold. Parsons noted a CNA also tapped on her mother’s cast on her ankle asking ‘what is this’ while checking on her.
The most stunning incident she recalled was on Saturday, Feb. 15, when her mother told her there was no water. The water was not working — it couldn’t be verified as to what happened to the water — she called and asked how the employees were washing their hands to treat residents.
Parsons stated the person said, ‘That’s a good question. Let me ask and I’ll let you know.’
She never got an answer.
Parsons also said her mother slept on sheets for four days with blood stains on them, an after effect of the surgery, and the way she slept. The beds at Hillview didn’t recline or incline and she had to elevate her foot following the procedure, so her mother slept with her feet on top of the pillows at the top of the bed.
A trip to Dr. Kay Barney in Parkville, her mother’s primary care doctor, alerted them she was anemic, malnourished and had a UTI.
“Dr. Barney said that place was killing her and she needed to get out,” Parsons said. “She went there for rehab. She wasn’t there to die. This isn’t OK. I don’t know how the people going into there to do the investigations can let this place remain open.”
The third person that spoke to the Citizen said her son got in a serious car accident and has been there since Christmas Eve.
When state inspectors were at Hillview, was the first time he had his catheter cleaned there since he arrived.
It was supposed to be cleaned every day.
“My son isn’t getting taken care of,” the mother said. “He keeps getting UTIs.”
The son was rushed to the hospital on New Year’s Eve with a temperature of 105 degrees and throwing up. He was admitted to the hospital for four days as his infection was septic.
Once back at the facility, she heard plenty of stories from her son about how the staff doesn’t take care of patients. Someone went 15 days without a shower and had scabs all over his head — those were among the photos that Spooner posted — and shortcomings of what was promised. When he arrived at the facility, he was told there would be two snacks and three meals per day. His mom said he is lucky he gets food and there are no longer snacks.
“What really bothers me is when state and corporate was there last week and he told them they haven’t been cleaning his catheter so the state looks and saw it was dirty,” she said. “The state showed a nurse how to do it. What are you talking about? Don’t know how to do this stuff? The state told them it has to be cleaned every day and that was a week ago and it hadn’t been cleaned since. He is supposed to have a shower every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and he has one, maybe every eight to 10 days. I’m a bit upset about all of this.
“I don’t say anything. They lie through their teeth why they can’t do this or why they can’t do that.”
Many of the allegations levied were asked specifically to Dillen, who cited HIPPA rules in not being able to answer.
Spooner said the family has retained counsel over her aunt’s death and a lawsuit could be filed.
According to Missouri CaseNet, Health Systems, Inc. has been sued multiple times over the past 15 years for wrongful death, malpractice or personal injury. All told, there are 17 pages of results.
The city of Platte City is aware of the allegations that have been posted on social media, but there isn’t much they can do, according to city administrator DJ Gehrt. A business license can’t be revoked as long as insurance is maintained, though the city attorney has been made aware of the situation.